good host suburban area takes care of feeding the soil in advance to maintain its nutritional value. Not only chemical fertilizers are used for this, but also improvised materials. You can make compost from leaves with a minimum of labor and expense. Get an environmentally friendly top dressing.
There is an opinion that pathogens remain on fallen leaves for a long time. Partly it is correct. But during the decay harmful microorganisms are dying. And then, vegetable crops and flowers, for which leaf compost is prepared, are subject to completely different diseases.
The leaves are rich in mineral micro and macro elements, their composition varies depending on the type of tree or shrub. So you have to mix different types from the site. Ideally, it would be nice to take a walk through the forest and return with a bag of fallen leaves. Very useful needles.
Cooking methods
The leaves are supersaturated with carbon. And for the decomposition of organic materials, turning them into carbon dioxide and volatilization takes time. The process takes two to three years (other plant organisms can be used as early as a year after harvesting), so for the leaves you need to make a separate compost pit or a bunch. To ensure annual top dressing, several collection points can be provided.
The collected material is abundantly moistened and well compacted. To neutralize the acidity, a little lime should be added or, even better, fertile soil. Then the contents are covered with polyethylene or straw to prevent drying.
At the same time, it must be remembered that compost should not spoil, and also not cause discomfort to neighbors. It is necessary to provide or build a low decorative fence.
The above method is called "cold". In addition, composting leaves can be made much faster. For this you need to do wooden box or buy a big one plastic container. A layer of straw or hay 10 cm thick is laid at the bottom. It will provide the necessary air access.
Important!
It is laid in layers, alternating hard and soft materials. Suitable paper, grass, vegetable and fruit waste, manure. It cannot be sealed.
Then the container is covered with a lid to maintain humidity and heat. The contents must be turned regularly to ensure air flow.
After 4-5 months, the compost will become Brown, the fresh aroma of the earth will come from it.
Interesting to know!
If felt bad smell ammonia, you need to add paper; rotten eggs - straw or hay.
The bottom layers of the product should be chosen for feeding, and fresh ones should be added on top.
If half the area of the site is used for sowing, then trenches 30 cm deep can be dug and leaves are laid in them. In dry weather, the contents need to be watered.
Application area
It is of particular value for sandy and clay soils. In the first case, it helps to retain water, in the second case it improves water permeability by creating a lumpy environment. Fertilizer is applied in autumn.
It is used both for, and house plants. It can be added to holes when planting young trees or to fertilize the topsoil.
The tool is very effective for feeding champignons. This culture assimilates most nutrients compost, providing a high yield.
Fallen leaves can be used to protect wintering crops and soil from freezing. With the advent of spring, they should be removed, because a kind of shell is formed that prevents the penetration of heat and air into the soil.
Mature proper compost keeps it for a long time useful qualities. Its use is possible for several years.
In many sources, it is recommended to rake all the fallen leaves from the garden after the leaf fall is completed so that it does not serve as a source of pests and diseases in the new season. Some burn fallen leaves, others take them outside suburban area. But this natural material can be successfully applied to the benefit of the garden and flower garden, namely, to cook from autumn foliage great compost. After all, few summer residents can boast of an excess amount, which are the main nutritional element of all plant crops. In this, only the villagers who keep poultry and livestock, and, accordingly, constantly receive a sufficient amount to fertilize their plantings. Therefore, for the rest, a great alternative can be leaf compost. It cannot boast of a special nutritional value, but it perfectly improves the structure of the soil, increases its moisture capacity and does not require much labor in preparation, since in the fall it turns out to be available at a time. a large number of fallen leaves. Even diseased tree leaves will not be able to cause any damage to vegetable and flower crops, because during decay, all pathogenic microflora dies, and besides, their diseases are completely different.
Autumn leaves have a fairly dense structure, and therefore it takes a lot of time to decompose. Depending on the type of tree from which the foliage was taken, the readiness of this may occur in 1.5-3 years. However, if you fix this process and annually in the fall to lay a new batch of leaves for composting, you can have valuable organic fertilizer constantly. To do this, it is advisable to equip three compost bins on the site: in the first there will be freshly laid compost, in the second - ripening, and in the third - ready for use.
For these purposes, you can build wooden and metal compost bins, purchase special plastic containers and use durable plastic bags large capacity, in which it will be necessary to make several holes for air access. In addition to this, now garden shops there were special packages for the preparation of leaf humus.
Fallen leaves are raked, moistened with water if the leaves are dry, and placed in portions in the intended place, layered with earth and carefully rammed. In order for the composting process to go faster, it makes sense to prepare a solution of any nitrogen fertilizer(20-30 g of the drug per 10 liters of water) and moisten the leaves with it. An alternative to nitrogen preparations can be freshly cut lawn grass, which is poured into the compost bin along with layers of earth, or a variety of plant residues from vegetable tops to kitchen waste. It is worth remembering that leaf humus at the exit will have an acidic reaction, therefore, to neutralize it, it is necessary to evenly pour wood ash into the compost bin, dolomite flour or chalk. Also, to accelerate the decay of all components, you can use modern biological preparations, which include living microorganisms.
After laying all the components in the compost bin, the future compost is covered with a film and in the future they make sure that it is constantly wet. In addition, the ripening mass should be thoroughly mixed 2-3 times per season in order to ensure sufficient air exchange for earthworms and microorganisms, which will just process the leaves into a homogeneous loose mass and accelerate the maturation of this natural fertilizer. Young compost can also be applied to beds and used as mulching material. In this case, its ripening will take place already in the garden or in the flower garden, so it is advisable to carry out this procedure in the fall, so that by the new season the processes of decomposition of the leaves have ended and they have turned into humic compounds useful for plants.
The maturity of a leaf is easy to determine by its smell - it will begin to thin out the pleasant aroma of forest land. It should not contain skeletons of not completely decomposed leaves or even whole leaf plates. At this stage, it will no longer be possible to determine which ingredients were put into the compost bin. When ripe, the mass acquires a very loose and uniform structure.
There is another sign that indicates the complete readiness of this organic fertilizer. If at the beginning of the process of decomposition of leaves and other organic matter a large number of worms can be found in the compost bin, then when the compost is completely overheated, the worms completely leave such a place, since there is no food left for them.
Sheet compost will be especially useful for those summer residents who have plots on light sandy or heavy clay soils. In addition, this substrate can be successfully used for growing seedlings of all crops.
Kudrina Irina
Leaves that have fallen from trees or bushes can be used to increase the fertility of depleted soil. This is a simple but effective fertilizer available on every personal plot. With the help of such top dressing, the soil structure is noticeably improved, and the yield increases without financial costs.
Fallen leaves are used as fertilizer only after appropriate preparation, since in original form the material does not contain nutritional value and essential trace elements. Leaving untreated foliage on the ground is not recommended: it can start harmful insects, rodents, develop fungal and bacterial diseases.
To use the leaves with benefit, you can prepare humus, which is suitable for fertilizing the soil. The benefits of this feeding:
- Support optimal amount moisture for an uninterrupted supply of liquid to the plant even during drought.
- The appearance of a large number of earthworms, providing the soil with an exchange of water and air, friability and softness of the structure.
- Acidification of the soil cover, which has a positive effect on the yield of plums, apples, pears, as well as the flowering and budding of many decorative indoor flowers.
- The leaves are used as mulch for vegetable gardens. A particularly noticeable result is visible on vegetable and horticultural crops.
What leaves can be used on the site?
The best option for fertilizing the garden is litter deciduous trees, especially fruit. Coniferous plantations can also be used to prepare top dressing, but the needles must be carefully crushed: they rot longer. Oak leaves must be used with caution as they can acidify the soil. Positive result showed the use of litter of mountain ash, poplar, cherry, chestnut, hawthorn, birch, beech, maple, berry bushes. The leaves of these crops contain a large number of macro- and microelements, incl. nitrogen and calcium (the concentration of these components depends on the type of trees or shrubs).
The collection of leaves is carried out using a broom, rake different shapes, a lawn mower set to the highest height, a special vacuum cleaner. The last two options are good because the litter enters the container in crushed form, so it is immediately ready for application to the soil.
How to make leaf humus?
The leaves must be collected, chopped, put in a prepared container and tamped well. Storage containers can be:
- self-made wooden or iron boxes 1x1 in size, (lid not required);
- plastic bags;
- garbage bags.
Using the last two devices, it is necessary to make several holes in them for air to enter. Leaves must be kept moist. If there is not enough moisture, water should be poured over the raw material.
Readiness of humus for use
The ripening period of the fertilizer depends on the species of trees or bushes, the height and density of the leaf mound. On average, the process takes from six months to 3 years.
At the initial stage of decay, the mass is heterogeneous: it has inclusions of the base of the leaf, cuttings, and large parts. Such a substrate is used for mulching, preparation seed material and seedlings, as a component compost heap, for lawn grass. You can make the composition as a top dressing of the soil before digging in the spring, in flower pots, add to perennial crops. Unripe material is used as an integral part of a special potting soil.
After 2-3 years, rotted leaves acquire the structure and texture of the earth, have the smell of forest soil, acquire dark color. You can use the resulting composition as a fertilizer or as a mulch for flowers that prefer acidic soil.
What else can you do with leaf litter?
In addition to preparing humus, the leaves can be used as follows:
- Make compost (more on this later in the article).
- Transfer in the fall to a garden plot that has not been used this season. The sheet layer will protect it from active growth weed grass, moisture evaporation, leaching of humus from the ground. In spring, the leaves can be added to the compost heap.
Fallen leaf compost
Composting is great option processing fallen leaves. This organic fertilizer is free tool to feed the garden. You can add grass cuttings, food waste, manure, bird droppings, small branches, vegetable tops, straw, wood shavings, sawdust. Fall from trees and shrubs goes well with the listed components.
Leaves should be healthy, not affected by pests, diseases.
Composting can be done in different ways:
- Compost pit.
It is necessary to dig a recess in the ground (about 0.3 m). In width, a size of 1x1 or 2.5x2.5 is suitable, depending on the dimensions of the free area of \u200b\u200bthe site. The benefit of this method of composting is the continuous composting process even in winter. It is necessary to lay the components in layers, impregnating them with liquid. Every month, it is necessary to turn the layers of compost with a pitchfork or a shovel to saturate the material with air and, accordingly, accelerate maturation. - Compost heap.
It is necessary to prepare a place for storing and maturing compost on small area vegetable garden, enclosing it with wooden planks. You can make a small gate in the fence for free access to compost. The structure is created by laying leaves in layers at the rate of 5 parts of leaf litter per 1 hour of food waste. It is necessary to turn the compost periodically. The first turning must be done no earlier than 21 days after laying. In dry weather, it is advisable to moisten the heap. From above, it is recommended to cover the structure with a film to maintain warmth inside. - Compost in bags.
If there is not enough free space for the compost heap, plastic bags can be used as a container for preparing fertilizer. The process of laying the components is identical for all composting methods. The only difference is compost storage. Leaves fruit trees and many forest plantations rot faster than the litter of evergreen crops. The readiness period can be up to 3 years. To speed up this process, the raw material is crushed. There is a device on sale called a “mulcher” that will help you cope with the task. Several holes must be made in the bag for unimpeded air flow. The top of the bag is not tied, because the presence of moisture in the maturation finished compost plays a primary role. A compost bag is sold in specialized gardening stores. Growers also use regular garbage bags (large). The main condition is black color and high density packaging. Do not add to compost:- diseased plants;
- fresh manure;
- toxic agents and their residues;
- recently cut weeds;
- bones, meat of animals.
- Compost in barrels.
On sale there are special units designed for the preparation of compost for short term. The essence of their work is the constant continuous turning of the working material. Fertilizer preparation time is reduced to a week.
Nitrogen-containing grass (nettle, lawn) will serve as an accelerator of decay. Compost in bags will be ready for use after 1-2 years.
Pros and cons of leaf compost
Compost has several benefits:
- increases soil fertility, improves its structure;
- no need to spend cash for the removal of waste and the purchase of additional dressings;
- compost is an ecological product that does not harm humans and the environment;
- improves soil moisture exchange;
- used for mulching, does not allow the germination of weed grass;
- acts as a bait for hedgehogs that destroy pests;
- promotes the development of beneficial microflora;
- provides sufficient fertilizer for the garden without the use of chemicals.
The disadvantages of leaf compost include the need frequent watering heaps and careful selection of tree species to collect foliage. Some leaf litter sticks together, which increases the duration of composting.
Cooking technology
At the bottom of the tank for the future compost, you need to lay a turf pillow 5 cm high. Then you need to lay the leaves in layers (each layer is no more than 10 cm), sprinkling them with soil: this is necessary so that the beneficial microflora gets into the fertilizer. Leaf layers are moistened with a solution of urea or saltpeter, caustic soda, slurry from fermented grass, wood ash alternately, not forgetting to sprinkle the leaves with earth.
After the formation of layers, it is necessary to cover the structure with grass (5 cm). Sprinkle on top:
- crushed straw (to provide soil with oxygen);
- hay for the appearance of beneficial microorganisms.
Prepared compost should be watered with diluted potassium permanganate (1%). The top should be covered with a layer of grass, plantings down. Then you need to insert 2 tubes to the middle for air exchange and moisture passage.
Warming leaves beds with winter garlic
leaf litter suitable as a frost protection material. Planting garlic is carried out in September-October to a depth of 8-10 cm. From above, they mulch with a layer of birch leaves 0.1 m high. At the end, they cover with raspberry branches so that the wind does not blow the foliage around the garden.
Ash
Ash fertilizer is suitable for acidic soils. Burnt leaves are applied at the rate of 2.5 kg per 10 m2 of land, mixed with earth dug up to 10 cm. Ash helps in the fight against snails and slugs. Does not contain chlorine.
Mulch
Leaf compost is also used for mulching. Dry material will do. It must be placed around near the trunks of trees, scattered in the aisle in the garden.
Leaf litter retains moisture in the ground, protects against frost and drought, and prevents the growth of weeds.
Fallen leaves are effective fertilizer at proper preparation, increase the yield and fertility of the soil, improve its structure. It should be remembered that the leaves of not all trees and shrubs can be used as top dressing. So, oak litter will change the acidity of the soil, so it can not be used on all types of soil.
With the onset of autumn, most owners of private houses or summer cottages they begin to collect and burn the leaves. Passers-by at this moment, walking along the street, are indignant that there is nothing to breathe and there is impenetrable smoke, and clothes need to be aired for 24 hours.
There are several ways to dispose of fallen leaves. One of them is useful as a fertilizer and it can be made in a maximum of 2 weeks, while it is still standing. warm weather. You just need to hurry up: prepare a compost bin and a bottle of EM preparations.
The benefits of composted leaves
Burning the leaves and adding ashes to the soil is good, because it contains nutrients such as phosphorus, potassium and calcium, as well as many other trace elements, needed by plants for development.
But in wood ash there is not one single element, without which it is impossible to grow a crop and healthy plant- nitrogen. When burned, it completely evaporates into the atmosphere.
Another way to use litter is to make compost from tree leaves. nutritional value such fertilizer is much higher. Firstly, because bacteria multiply in it, which then enter the soil and continue their work on the production of humic acids, which are completely absorbed by plants and restore the fertile layer.
Secondly, dry raw materials can be mixed with greens and return the lost nitrogen. As greenery, you can use weeds or green manure. Mowed lawn grass will do.
Fallen leaf compost composition
Dry foliage is a carbon-containing component that turns into humus for a very long time if nitrogen in the form of greens or urea is not added to it. The main thing is to observe the correct proportions of the components: for each nitrogen part, 3 carbon parts must be added.
If only litter is used for composting, then leaf humus will ripen about 2 years old. When using various biodestructors - year. This is not beneficial as the fertilizer needs to be applied annually, or good harvest can hardly be expected.
To speed up the process, you need to collect leaves from the site - any. If an oak grows or coniferous trees, then their total number should not exceed 15% of the total mass. The fact is that these substances increase the acidity of the fertilizer. If there are a lot of them, then leaf humus will be unsuitable for many plants that prefer a neutral or slightly acidic environment.
Video: What to do with fallen leaves
There is a recipe that allows you to apply only oak leaves for composting, but it includes chicken manure, the pH of which is above 7 units. These two components balance each other, so the acidity in the leaf humus remains within acceptable limits.
Fertilizer preparation
Before preparing leaf humus, it is necessary to prepare raw materials:
- clear the area of weeds and demolish closer to the pile, where the components will be laid;
- inspect the tops vegetable plants for fungal diseases, if the greens are clean, then you can use it;
- if the lawn was recently mowed, then the grass is left in the sun for 2 to 3 days to dry. If lawn grass is the only nitrogen component, then it is laid without drying.
All components are crushed: the smaller, the better. For example, Western farmers use special devices - compost grinders. In our country, this role is most often performed by a shovel or pruner.
Variety of pile for composting foliage
It is advisable to make a collar for leaf humus with small holes, since the fine substrate will simply spill out of the box. Better use for this plastic barrel, which must be fixed on the pipe and rotated periodically to mix the components.
If the issue of cooking speed is not acute, then an ordinary barrel will do, but you will need to shovel the contents manually - with a pitchfork.
How to compost faster
Most summer residents are interested in how to make leaf humus quickly before autumn is over. Answer: without accelerators it will not work. As biological additives, Baikal EM-1 or Radiance preparations are used. Perhaps in local stores you can find other biodestructors with a similar effect.
The solution is made according to the instructions and applied to each laid layer of ingredients:
- A layer of soil is laid at the bottom of the barrel about 20 cm. Watered with a solution of microorganisms.
- The next layer is the leaves. 20 - 30 cm and also shed a biological product.
- Next, the nitrogen component is grass, weeds or green manure layer of 10 cm.
- Priming 5 - 10 cm.
- Leaves again.
- The last layer, which covers all the components, should be ground.
After everything is stacked, the compost is left for 3 days. During this time, the processes of decomposition of organic matter by bacteria begin in the barrel. After 3 days, it is necessary to turn all the components over so that the microorganisms receive oxygen and continue to multiply and eat plant debris.
Next, you need to loosen the compost every other day, leaving the lid of the barrel open. The more air gets into the compost, the faster the bacteria will process the vegetation into leaf humus. Be sure to monitor the humidity so that the ingredients do not dry out, otherwise the microorganisms will work inefficiently.
When to use in the garden
2 - 3 weeks after laying the components at proper care fertilizer is ready. It should be brown in color and have a nice earthy smell. You can fertilize with leaf humus any crop. Usually the compost is dug up with top layer land in beds, under shrubs or fruit trees.
Everyone knows that the main organs of plants are roots, stems and leaves. And if the first two are given attention, then the leaves are not lucky in this regard. They are only said to contain chlorophyll and, through photosynthesis, provide carbohydrates and other nutrients to the entire plant. Well, as for the already fallen tree leaf, in most publications it is believed that it is completely useless and unnecessary, since it has no nutrients and is not a fertilizer.
This means that an amateur gardener concludes for himself that the fallen leaf must be taken to a landfill, which is done in the city. And what will happen to the roots of trees without this protective layer? Are autumn leaves so useless?
Flower growers were the first to talk about the use of leaf humus. And it's understandable why. The moisture capacity of the soil increases and its structure and mechanical composition improve. But is it only necessary for flower growers? If you bring leaf litter from the forest, and even take it from your site and simply put it in a pile, it will be stored for a long time without rotting.
Another thing is forest leaf litter. From this, in fact, the desire to prepare leaf humus and compost began.
In a deciduous or mixed forest, without depriving the trees, I rake up a layer of half-decayed leaves, capturing a little of the topsoil as well. Usually this layer already consists of leaf humus. This composition has an acid reaction of the soil solution. I put all the prepared mass into spherical hemispherical heaps and compact it a little.
Readiness of leaf humus determined by appearance and smell (a purely forest, not a putrid smell appears). Such humus can be applied to the soil as a loosening and fertilizing material. Forest bed prepared as humus, compost is especially good for clay soil.
How do I prepare this compost component? I water the heap with slurry, a solution of fermented herbs, and feces can also be added, as recommended. But I do not bring the latter for sanitary and hygienic reasons. In such a short time that I take for compost preparation - 8 months, helminths, if they are there, will not be disinfected in time and will fall into the soil. Also, it seems to me, it is necessary to pay attention to the preparation of prefabricated compost, where the conditions are different, and the preparation time too.
We are talking about a fallen leaf, but it is introduced into the combined compost from fruit trees and shrubs only if the leaves are healthy and not damaged by pests and diseases. Affected leaves are to be burned or removed from the garden plot away, where they are disinfected in a natural way.
This applies not only to leaves from trees, but also to vegetable and other herbal leaves, which are also included in the compost, but in healthy, without rot, pests, diseases. In prefabricated compost, the leaves contribute to better aeration, moisture capacity and act as a ripper. But to accelerate the maturation of compost, the leaves must be applied in crushed form.
Otherwise, the leaves of a tree such as aspen stick together with plates and are stored in this form for years. It is best to make a birch, linden leaf, which does not need to be crushed. Dry leaf is used not only in compost, but also as a component in the construction warm beds, where, mixed with straw, hay, grass residues, it contributes to the production of heat for the roots of plants, and is also protective layer from the dank cold layer of soil. To do this, I collect dry leaves in dry weather and store until spring in closed containers. In particular, they are stored in my barrels under a canopy and in cans.
A dry leaf is also used by me as a mulching material for trunk circles fruit trees and shrubs, and garden beds. Including as a protective layer, and hence the roots of plants from freezing and drying up the soil. The soil under the leaf is always moderately moist.
Now the autumn period of plant life has come. This year, the leaves of birch, linden, mountain ash and other plants turn yellow and fall first. Then mass leaf fall will begin. Dry leaves are used along with dry peat, chopped straw as bedding material with a layer of up to 30 cm, which absorbs liquid well when preparing a site for the preparation of any compost.
Dry leaves passed my test for suitability as an insulating, and at the same time, aerosol material for winter garlic, planted in late September - the first decade of October. On a ridge with planted garlic, I pour a layer of 5-10 cm of dry birch leaves and cover with spruce branches or stems of raspberries, Jerusalem artichoke - so that they are not blown away by the wind, in winter I still add 20-30 cm of snow. There has never been a case that winter garlic, planted to a depth of 8-10 cm, I have frozen. In the spring, with the removal of shelter, it actively grows and produces good large bulbs.
A good result is obtained by the method of ripening compost in boxes or compost heaps.
Over the years of gardening, I have developed the following technology. Given the possibility of freezing compost, I cook the latter in shallow pits. laying technology is the same
The depth of the pit is 30 cm, the width is 2.5 m. Experience has shown that the process of decay and fermentation in the pit does not stop even in winter. Now I'm already taking care of composting for the right time. My deadline is in the foreground. And microorganisms, bacteria, earthen fleas, fungi, worms and other living creatures in the soil will figure out for themselves what to do with this organic matter, plant food. This is noticeable on trial, test beds. Plants grow faster than normal.
So, having provided a five-centimeter bedding layer in the pit, I lay dry leaves of deciduous trees moistened with a solution of saltpeter or urea (urea) in layers (except oak, which rot poorly and contain tannins). For every 10-centimeter layer of leaves, I always add a layer of garden or sod land. For what? In order to, in addition to the structural composition of the soil, the macro- and microelements contained in it, also introduce soil microflora into the leaf layer.
Next comes the next layer of bulk leaves. Here we are already moistening it with slurry, or a solution of fermented grass. You can add a solution of fertile garden soil from your site. Next, the next layer of leaves, which we will moisten with a solution of caustic soda.
Caustic soda is not a fertilizer per se, but the caustic helps to extract chlorophyll from the leaves. Then the next layer - a solution of wood ash is introduced, then again a layer of leaves moistened with water. We cover everything with a five-centimeter layer of mowed grass. The next layer is covered with chopped straw - for oxygen, hay - for microorganisms, moistened with a 1% solution of potassium permanganate.
The compost pit is covered with sods 20 × 10 cm, laid tightly to each other on top of the heap, grass cover down. Then I install two vertical tubes to the middle of the pile - for air and moistening the pile, then I take them out and fill the holes.
I have two holes. One is where the components are assembled. The other is where the composition is shoveled. I do shoveling about a month after laying all the material in the first pile. This must be done to loosen the compost, and hence improve aeration, for better mixing of the composition of the heap.
So I had to give up classical forms composters and move on to cumulus forms. In addition to other advantages, I consider the main thing for me to be convenience and ease (after all, age is no longer the same strength) in the shoveling itself. After that, the compost is ready and can be applied to the soil.
